(I'm Always Touched by Your) Presence, Dear
"(I'm Always Touched by Your) Presence, Dear," a song from the 1977 album Plastic Letters by Blondie, was released as follow-up single 1 to their international breakthrough "Denis", reaching #10 in the UK singles chart in May 1978. It was never released as a single in the US. Contents 1 Song information 2 Cover versions 3 Release history 3.1 Side one 3.2 Side two 4 Chart peaks 5 References Song information It was written by Blondie bass player Gary Valentine, a/k/a Gary Lachman, for his then-girlfriend Lisa Jane Persky before his departure from the band. Valentine had also written the band's first single, "X Offender". In a 2012 interview, Lachman jokingly explained that the song concerns a telepathic connection between him and his girlfriend. "That was about these paranormal experiences I was having with my girlfriend at the time. We were in telepathic contact with each other when I was on tour. We would discover we’d be having the same dreams and we always seemed to know what the other was doing, which sometimes proved uncomfortable!" 2 More seriously, in New York Rocker: My Life in the Blank Generation Valentine wrote: "During the Iggy {Pop} tour we discovered we were having the same kind of dreams or found we were thinking of each other at the same time. Although we were thousands of miles apart, we were still in touch. Thinking of this one afternoon, it all came together in a song."3 The lyrics include references to kismet, theosophy, R.E.M, levitation and the stratosphere. The single was issued in both 7" and 12" formats in the UK, with two songs on the B-side, as were previous singles, "Rip Her to Shreds" and "Denis". One of the single's B-side tracks was "Detroit 442", and the other was Jimmy Destri's "Poets Problem", which was not on the original release of Plastic Letters. "Poets Problem" was first issued on CD on the 1993 rarities compilation Blonde and Beyond and later as a bonus track on both the 1994 and 2001 re-releases of Plastic Letters. Blondie performed the song on the BBC2 television show The Old Grey Whistle Test in 1978.4 Cover versions Tracey Ullman covered the song in her 1983 album You Broke My Heart in 17 Places. In 1995, Annie Lennox covered it as the B-side of her single "A Whiter Shade of Pale". Gary Valentine's version of the song was released on the 2003 compilation of his work in music entitled Tomorrow Belongs to You5 Release history UK 7" and 12" (CHS 2217) Side one 1."(I'm Always Touched by Your) Presence, Dear" (Gary Valentine) – 2:43 Side two 1."Poets Problem" (Jimmy Destri) – 2:20 2."Detroit 442" (Jimmy Destri, Chris Stein) – 2:28 Chart peaks Chart (1978) Peak position Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)6 14 Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)7 10 UK Singles (Official Charts Company)8 10 References 1.Jump up ^ "(I'M ALWAYS TOUCHED BY YOUR) PRESENCE, DEAR single". deborah-harry.com. Retrieved 31 January 2014. 2.Jump up ^ Valentino, Bianca (26 September 2012). "Blondie’s Gary Lachman on Madame Blavatsky: The Mother of Modern Spirituality". Conversations with Bianca. Retrieved 23 May 2013. 3.Jump up ^ Gary Valentine New York Rocker: My Life in the Blank Generation (New York: Thunder's Mouth Press, 2006) p. 174 4.Jump up ^ The Old Grey Whistle Test (DVD). Warner Home Video. 2003. 5.Jump up ^ "Tomorrow Belongs to You". allmusic.com. Retrieved 31 January 2014. 6.Jump up ^ "Ultratop.be – Blondie – (I'm Always Touched by Your) Presence, Dear" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved July 28, 2013. 7.Jump up ^ "Nederlandse Top 40 – Blondie - I m Always Touched by Your Presence Dear search results" (in Dutch) Dutch Top 40. Retrieved July 28, 2013. 8.Jump up ^ "Archive Chart: 1978-05-27" UK Singles Chart. Retrieved July 28, 2013. hide v · t · e Blondie Debbie Harry · Chris Stein · Clem Burke · Leigh Foxx · Matt Katz-Bohen · Tommy Kessler Fred Smith · Billy O'Connor · Gary Valentine · Frank Infante · Nigel Harrison · Kevin Patrick · Jimmy Destri · Paul Carbonara Studio albums Blondie · Plastic Letters · Parallel Lines · Eat to the Beat · Autoamerican · The Hunter · No Exit · The Curse of Blondie · Panic of Girls · Ghosts of Download Compilations The Best of Blondie · The Complete Picture: The Very Best of Deborah Harry and Blondie · Blonde and Beyond · The Platinum Collection · Denis · Picture This – The Essential Blondie Collection · Atomic: The Very Best of Blondie · Greatest Hits · Greatest Hits: Sight + Sound · Greatest Hits Deluxe Redux Live albums Picture This Live · Live · Live by Request Remix albums Once More into the Bleach · Beautiful: The Remix Album · Remixed Remade Remodeled: The Remix Project Singles Blondie "X Offender" · "In the Flesh" · "Rip Her to Shreds" Plastic Letters "Denis" · "(I'm Always Touched by Your) Presence, Dear" Parallel Lines "Picture This" · "I'm Gonna Love You Too" · "Hanging on the Telephone" · "Heart of Glass" · "Sunday Girl" · "One Way or Another" Eat to the Beat "Dreaming" · "Union City Blue" · "The Hardest Part" · "Atomic" American Gigolo soundtrack "Call Me" A Nightmare on Elm Street 4 soundtrack "Rip Her to Shreds" Autoamerican "The Tide Is High" · "Rapture" The Hunter "Island of Lost Souls" · "War Child" No Exit "Maria" · "Nothing Is Real but the Girl" · "No Exit" The Curse of Blondie "Good Boys" Panic of Girls "Mother" · "What I Heard" Ghosts of Download "A Rose by Any Name" · "Sugar on the Side" · "I Want to Drag You Around" · "Make a Way" · "Rave" · "Relax" Videos Eat to the Beat · The Best of Blondie · The Complete Picture: The Very Best of Deborah Harry and Blondie · Live · Greatesst Video Hits · Live by Request Tours "Tracks Across America Tour 1982" · "No Exit Tour 1998-1999" · "Camp Funtime Tour 2002" · "Road Rage Tour 2006" · "Parallel Lines 30th Anniversary Tour 2008" · "Call Me Invincible Tour (With Pat Benatar) 2009" · "Panic of Girls Tour 2011" · "Blast Off Tour 2013" · "No Principals Tour 2013" Related Articles Discography · New wave music Labels Chrysalis Records · Epic Records · Private Stock Records · Sanctuary Records Group · Eleven Seven Records Bands The Wind in the Willows · The Jazz Passengers Albums and songs American Gigolo soundtrack · A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master soundtrack Wikipedia book Book:Blondie Category:Blondie (band) songs Category:1978 singles Category:Songs written by Gary Lachman Category:Chrysalis Records singles Category:1977 songs